Orthodynamic Roundup
Dec 22, 2012 at 11:54 PM Post #20,881 of 27,141
thanks for the update Kalbee.
 
That foam must have been like a flattened version of the inside of a Cadbury Crunchie bar, I know the NOS TDS-16 ( Kiev ) were like that inside. They didn't last longer than about 10 minutes listening before supreme deflation
honeycomb toffee

  yum. [ only Brits and Canadians will know this chocolate bar, far as i know ]
 
I think those white cables actually look pretty good, and from what i recall, some most of the Sony cables I scalped from teardowns were of decent quality for sure. Sort of thicker looking though. That enamel coating is my nemesis.
angry_face.gif

 
But you need to get some sort of know in there, unless you are definitely going to swap that cable out later. ( I like it )
 Any chance you could run a tight strip of ( white maybe
bigsmile_face.gif
  ) electrical tape around the baffle perimeter to hold them down securely, it doesn't look all that bad depending on how tight and accurate you go.
 
So are they functioning now?
 
How did you get them open i would like to do the same with these black ones honestly.( open them )
 
Dec 23, 2012 at 12:32 AM Post #20,882 of 27,141
Quote:
thanks for the update Kalbee.
 
That foam must have been like a flattened version of the inside of a Cadbury Crunchie bar, I know the NOS TDS-16 ( Kiev ) were like that inside. They didn't last longer than about 10 minutes listening before supreme deflation
honeycomb toffee

  yum. [ only Brits and Canadians will know this chocolate bar, far as i know ]
 
I think those white cables actually look pretty good, and from what i recall, some most of the Sony cables I scalped from teardowns were of decent quality for sure. Sort of thicker looking though. That enamel coating is my nemesis.
angry_face.gif

 
But you need to get some sort of know in there, unless you are definitely going to swap that cable out later. ( I like it )
 Any chance you could run a tight strip of ( white maybe
bigsmile_face.gif
  ) electrical tape around the baffle perimeter to hold them down securely, it doesn't look all that bad depending on how tight and accurate you go.
 
So are they functioning now?
 
How did you get them open i would like to do the same with these black ones honestly.( open them )

Pretty much! Toffee in your mouth for 40 seconds = the contents in those pads.
 
Well, aside from the colour (Canadian & Brit style!?) itself, it's also how what used to be the knot inside the cups is now exposed and looks a little silly. Those cables are really thin, almost like that in IEMs. But yes, they work now! I just put the enamel coated cable on some heat sink or some sort, and burn it off with the iron. For some harder to burn ones I unroll the wires, separate the enamel from the copper, and either cut the enamel off with scissors or burn the enamel off.
 
I think I'm really bad at rolling electric tape haha. But definitely a solution.
 
As far as how to open them up, I can't really help there... I don't remember if I previously mentioned this but when I first received them the pad+baffle already popped off. Not to mention the cup perimeter has cracks. Rather than how to open them I'd be interested in how to close them. If anything, the baffle ring is uniform in shape all around it. They should simply clip on and off. Not entirely sure of the best way to remove them.
 
I'll get back on my mobile and upload pictures of pieces if that helps.
 
Dec 25, 2012 at 4:59 PM Post #20,885 of 27,141
Dec 26, 2012 at 5:09 AM Post #20,887 of 27,141
Good old english toffee. You know I may have to pick one of those toothpullers up tomorrow been forever and a day since I had a Crunchie. Dang that GMO lecithin and fructose.
 
Funny about your comment. I can picture people getting packing materials with some products and people watching them, " why are they staring at the foam and holding it up to the light?, How much rum were in the rumballs.."
 
Sad thing is, sometimes the foam is more interesting to me than what I get, or equally so.  Safely filed in the project closet are multiple examples of that, luckily no one sees me stare at it. Especially fine are the thinner sheets of it.
 
 
Not much on the modding front today, twas the plan , but there's always tomorrow to tweak and fix the 4 or 5 left to do., or was it 6.
Show us your your new packing foams!
 
Dec 26, 2012 at 6:53 AM Post #20,888 of 27,141
Going back to the Grundig GDHS223 (Fostex T20 clone), I noticed the black fiber/paper covering the "L"-shaped vents at the back of the cup. Is there a similar damping in the T20, and did anyone try removing it? I've always been intrigued as to what effect this has on bass and treble respectively. This fiber/paper is also used in the first version of the Beyer DT880 which sounds artifical to me, and the T50RP has a similar thing covering the back of the driver.
 
Chime in if you've been experimenting with this.
 
 

 

 
Dec 26, 2012 at 7:00 AM Post #20,889 of 27,141
I have run into stuff like that before a fair bit, but  often right behind the actual obvious damping pads, so I always assumed it was simply a dust-guard and there also for cosmetic reasons when looking from the outside,  so the foam doesn't show.
 
It would be nice to find out for sure though once and for all.
 
It seems like it is similar also to the dustguard on some of the SFI drivers too.
 
Looking forward to other ideas.
 
Dec 26, 2012 at 7:33 AM Post #20,890 of 27,141
Hello everyone and Happy New Year! Good news about VSONIC ortho IEM.
 
I am selling my modded Elektronika TDS-5m. Need funds for new project. The link is below the signature.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/636982/update-modded-mint-condition-elektronika-tds-5m-orthodynamic-headphones-ussr
 
Dec 26, 2012 at 5:10 PM Post #20,892 of 27,141
Kinda looks like the black fiber disc that's on the HP-50, attached to the white one. Would be odd if it were just for crud, as the white disc seems crud-impervious by itself.
 
Also, kinda like the fiber stuff on the AKG K 240 DF, which did increase bass.

 
Dec 27, 2012 at 9:10 AM Post #20,893 of 27,141
got a bit of a time to experiment a TDS-5m from my friend and also Nick's Arctic Cotton.
 
i listened to it for a good 15 minutes in its stock form, using a headstage arrow (i dont have desktop amps anymore) and a sony F800 series walkman, and i find that the midrange is too prominent, and treble is pretty much lacking. the bass is OK for me though. i was using a pair of velour pads from the HD25 for now, as the owner doesnt have other pads except for the velour pads.
 
after listening, i tried redampening it a bit. first thing i did is i removed the stock yellow foam, placed a thin layer of open-cell foam in the cups, retained the stock felt that blocks the vents, and placed a disc of Arctic Bamboo at the center. it sounded off than stock because midrange somewhat became more prominent than the already prominent midrange of the stock tds-5m. treble became abit harsh as well and i have to remove the headphone after 10 seconds of listening. sorry no pics xD
 
next thing i did is to replace the Arctic Foam with an accoustic foam from an old (and dead) tannoy speaker and for some reason, i barely heard any difference between the two. maybe because im modding the headphones while sick. sorry no pics again! also tried leaving the open-cell foam only and it sounded more correct to my ears, midrange not too prominent anymore and i like it. but the treble is still lacking, which is expected.
 
i removed the accoustic foam, then cut some strips from Arctic Cotton, and because i dont have any skill to cut perfect circles, i did it like the picture below:
 

 
now it sounds more of my preference.treble not rolled off anymore, but not too much. midrange retained its "sweetness" from the open-cell foam. my problem now is that the bass' "meatiness" or "body" decreased. not by much but its noticeable. 
 
suggestions on how to make it sound better or balanced are welcome! balanced like midrange not too prominent, enough treble not to be rolled off, and bass hits enough on edm tracks for example.
 
sorry for the long post *cough cough* i should go back to sleep xD and thanks for looking!
 
Dec 27, 2012 at 8:06 PM Post #20,894 of 27,141
gave it a second listen before going to work and i find the midrange sounds abit thin, specially vocals. doesnt sound correct at all. maybe due to too much focus on increasing the treble.
 
friend doesnt want to have it recabled so its going to be pads and dampening only!
 
Dec 27, 2012 at 8:15 PM Post #20,895 of 27,141
Dug out the HP-50S for the sake of giving them some use. Still think the soundstage is a problem, sounds as though I've got a wall to the sides of me. But the mid-stage sounds open, oddly, and the mids are as fine as always.
 
Still need to finish modding the Unipolars, think they're better than the tan-and-browns in everything but looks.
 

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